Gibson Dunn Secures Denial of Class Certification for Meta Platforms in Pixel Privacy Litigation
Firm News | April 3, 2026
On March 30, 2026, Gibson Dunn secured a major victory on behalf of client Meta Platforms, Inc., convincing Judge P. Casey Pitts of the Northern District of California to deny class certification in a data-privacy class action against Meta relating to third-party websites’ use of its free Pixel code, which allows websites to send data to Meta and receive analytics about their users. Meta’s terms preclude those websites from sending any sensitive information through the Pixel.
The plaintiffs in this case alleged that the Pixel was installed by various tax-filing websites, including H&R Block and TaxAct, and that those websites sent users’ tax-filing information to Meta, in violation of Meta’s terms. But discovery revealed that Meta received no tax-filing information about any of the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs then pivoted, seeking to certify far broader classes of all people who ever visited the tax sites.
Gibson Dunn convinced Judge Pitts to deny class certification. Judge Pitts accepted Meta’s argument that plaintiffs could not broaden the class definition beyond the class proposed in the complaint, reasoning that class members outside the original definition lacked timely claims and could not benefit from tolling. He also ruled that to the extent Meta had received any tax-filing information about any putative class members, identifying those people would require burdensome individualized inquiries that would predominate over common questions.
Gibson Dunn partner Lauren Goldman argued the case for Meta; the firm’s winning team includes partners Elizabeth K. McCloskey, Darcy C. Harris, Abbey A. Barrera, and Trenton J. Van Oss.